No matter how often he gets knocked down, he always stands up again. After a career full of ups and downs, Paulinho now finds himself as a cult figure at legendary FC Barcelona.

José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior was born on 25th July 1988 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Child to a council worker and a supermarket manager, he grew up in bad conditions and started his footballing career when he played for the youth team of Pão de Açúcar Esporte Club, now known as Audax Sao Paulo. Aged 17 in 2008, he already had enough of it. After failing to break into Pao´s first team, Paulinho signed his first professional contract with Lithuanian side FC Vilnius in 2006. After two unsuccessful seasons marked by relegation and racial abuses, Paulinho left Lithuania for Poland. After less than a year playing there for LKS Lodz (where he was paid way less than agreed), he quit it and said that he never wanted to play football again. But his wife, then pregnant, convinced him of not giving up, as she argued that he couldn´t do anything else and he had to care for his parents and his soon-to-be-born daughter. So he joined his youth club Pão de Açúcar for a second time, basically starting from zero again.
​He won promotion with them before joining Bragantino in the second Brazilian division. From there he headed to Corinthians, where he won the Brazilian title, the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Cup. Having turned down Internazionale Milan, he joined Tottenham for a club-record 19 Million Euros in 2013. The Premier League suited him in general, but André Villas-Boas, the coach who knew him, who convinced him to come to the Spurs, was gone shortly after Paulinho´s arrival. And with him, the Brazilian's confidence and playing times. He started 28 games in his first season in North London and just three in his second under new coaches Tim Sherwood and later Mauricio Pochettino. In between, the shameful night of the 8th July happened, when Brazil´s national team was shockingly defeated 7:1 by Germany in the semi-final of the 2014 World Cup, in Brazil.

That summer was the second time Paulinho finally gave up. For him, it was no option staying at Tottenham, but he also had no other offers. Thank god Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande, then coached by his old friend Tite, called. It was a time where the Chinese Super League flourished with several big European transfers coming in and Paulinho took the chance, although he was aware of the fact that this was certainly a step down for him.

Going to China is where the story was supposed to end. Media and Fans both cribbed off his career, they all put it down for him to cashing in a few years and then ending it for the Brazilian midfielder. But his time in the middle kingdom turned out to be a restart. Paulinho found his joy in playing football again and was one of the few European players who really took their time in China seriously. 28 goals and nine Assists in 95 games for Guangzhou are great numbers, he also won six titles including two consecutive Chinese championships and the AFC Champions League.

When the news headlines reported a 40 Million Euros move of Paulinho to FC Barcelona, most people shook their head. After a world record departure of Neymar, Barcelona was in the middle of a crisis, and this transfer was seen as a definitive sign of this club´s downward spiral.
​Seven months later and we all know better. The now 29-year-old proofed to be the biggest transfer surprises for long and a sign of the incredible intelligence of the Blaugrana´s management. Paulinho is something Barca actually never had in their history. A beefy, hard-working, much-running box-to-box-midfielder. His playing style doesn´t belong into the “normal” Barcelona system, but it perfectly fits Ernesto Valverde and his idea of the game. The way he redefined this club is remarkable and outstanding and believe it or not, Paulinho plays a big part in all that, not just because of his eight goals and two assists in the league, but also because of his mentality and presence on as well as off the pitch.

This season Barcelona have surely been the super power of La Liga and are running away with the title.

11 points above Atletico and 19 above Real, the Catalonian giants have bossed the league this season and with the signing of Phillipe Coutinho they show no sign of slowing down.

The Champions League has also been a breeze for the four-time winners, topping their group with three points more than Juventus, while Real Madrid clinch a second spot, three points behind Tottenham Hotspur.

It does look like Real are going through a distressful spell, with their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 8 goals and assisting 3 while Barcelona’s “terrible” signing Paulinho has scored the same amount and assisted 2 - all while playing in midfield.

Last night Cristiano Ronaldo was named the best male footballer in the world for 2017. This caused huge uproar on social media with many fans protesting that Lionel Messi should have been given his 6th Ballon D'or.

Speaking to French Football on the matter, Cristiano said: "I am the best player in history, both in good moments and the bad moments.

"I respect everyone's opinions, but I haven't ever seen anyone who is better than me. I've always thought this.

"No player can do the things that I can. There isn't a player more complete than me. I play well with either foot, I'm quick, powerful, good with my head, I score goals, I assist goals.

"There are people who prefer Neymar or Messi. But I'll tell you; there is no player more complete than I am.

"No one's won as many individual trophies as I have, and I'm not just speaking about the Ballon d'Or. That speaks, doesn't it?

"I won the Ballon d'Or before Messi. He then overtook me, winning four in a row.

"I won't hide from you that I was sad and angry. I attended the award ceremonies and never won. I was even demotivated at one point. I didn't want to go [to the ceremonies]. Just being there for the photo did not interest me.

"But, little by little, thanks to those who are close to me, I told myself that in life there is a beginning and an end.

"And in football it's the end that counts, not the start. I stayed patient and I won four more Ballons d'Or."

Regardless of whether or not you think Ronaldo deserved his 5th Ballon d'Or, it's good to see him be so modest about receiving the accolade...

When those times usually come – which is consigning Cristiano to history, but the Portuguese legend always forces his critics to become silent. After putting into the net a supreme strike from the edge of the box, Ronaldo helped Real Madrid to defeat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu as well as to become the 1st player in history of the Champions League to score in all of his club’s group games (6) in a season. Hence, Real move on to the UCL Knockout Stage after finishing 2nd in Group H, the defending European champions finished behind Tottenham that have remained unbeaten in the competition till now.

The Portuguese forward was integral to the majority of his team’s offensive transitions as well as threatened Dortmund himself. CR7 was also involved in the 1st goal after he cut in from the left flank, drifted inside and provided an accurate pass into the box to Isco , whose touch during his turn allowed the ball to fall to Mayoral that confidently converted the chance given, who actually scored his 1st European goal. By all means, Cristiano displayed the MVP performance, thus attesting his dominance once more!
​In general, the 32-year old scored his 9th goal in the UEFA Champions League during the 2017/18 season, hereby totally having 114 goals in the tournament and 17 more than his eternal rival from Barcelona – Leo Messi. Therefore, Ronaldo can now happily arrive in Paris in order to possibly receive his 5th Balon d’Or while Madrid now go into next week’s draw as the squad that no one of the CL Group winners would like to battle against in the last 16.

Hearing "Barcelona" these days, most football fans are probably going to think of these 3 subjects immediately:
1. Board/ Bartomeu
2. Contracts and transfers
3. Squad

Now, starting with Bartomeu, there have been a lot of discussions about him and the Barca board in general. Especially after losing Neymar and failing to sign Phillipe Coutinho this summer, but that is not where it all started.

Well, first of all, the way youth players coming out of La Masia have been treated in the last couple of years.

Examples for this are Munir el Haddadi, Sandro Ramirez and the most recent ones are Sergi Samper and Jordi Imbula (now at AS Monaco). In my opinion, even if Sergi Samper isn't a player of Barca's quality, the way he and players coming through La Masia in general have been treated in the last couple of years is a disgrace.

Imbula is a huge talent and it wouldn't suprise me if he had his breakthrough for Monaco in one or two seasons - to get under £5 million for him is just stupid. Samper has already made it clear that he would not want to return to Barcelona under any circumstances next season. Those two are perfect examples of how bad it really is.

Also, when Andre Gomes and Paco Alcacer were signed in 16/17, Munir and Sandro were good enough to play for Barcelona. Instead, Alcacer and Gomes were signed for a combined fee of €65 million, which could have risen to €85m because of bonuses had Barca won more than just the Spanish cup, which was obviously what they were expecting at least.

Yes, you can argue that Gomes and Alcacer are better players than the two, but 85 million, seriously?!?! Even in this year's summer transfer window, I personally wouldn't have paid so much for them both.

Another aspect that cost them last year was not signing a new right back, then playing Sergi Roberto, usually a number 8, in his position. Letting Dani Alves go in the first place was a huge mistake, seeing as there was no real replacement available on the market.

It all started though, when they agreed to a deal with Qatar Sports Investment, wearing "Qatar Foundation" on the front of their jersey for two years and Qatar Airways for another four. Agreeing this deal in 2011 meant that Barca wore the name of a sponsor on the front of their jersey for the first time in club history (Unicef excluded). This was seen to be selling their souls for many fans back then.

At this point Josep Maria Bartomeu was vice-president and after taking over in 2014, he expressed his aim to be "the expansion of the club in the areas of North America and the eastern part of Asia". His aim was also to make the club more stable and competitive financially than it has been in recent years, naming a revenue target of one billion Euros from 2016 to the end of his spell as club president in 2021.

The new signings disappointed last season, as well as the success of course, and overall ever since he's been Barca's president, there have been pretty big changes at Barca, with moderate success so far. Considering all these facts, it's clear to see why many Barca fans want him and large parts of the board gone, showing their frustration over social media with the hashtags: "#Bartomeudimiteya, #Bartomeudimitehoy" ; meaning "#Bartomeuresignnow and #Bartomeuresigntoday".

At Ousmane Dembele's unveiling in the Camp Nou, there were a few "Bartomeu out" chants. He made it clear, however, that he was not going to resign, negotiating with Leo Messi and Andres Iniesta over a new contract - but there are difficulties in that area too, leading me onto the next topic, contracts and transfers

In July it was reported that Leo Messi had signed a new contract at Barca. The confirmation failed to follow though and Bartomeu has said ever since that his father had already signed, they just needed time to do it with him. Barcelona attended a pre-season tournament in the US, being played from the 19th to the 30th of July and they couldn't find twenty minutes to sign and make a few photos? And even after returning to Barcelona and playing Chapecoense on the 8th of August, they couldn't find those twenty minutes again in 7 days.

In July it was reported that Leo Messi had signed a new contract at Barca. The confirmation failed to follow though and Bartomeu has said ever since that his father had already signed, they just needed time to do it with him. Barcelona attended a pre-season tournament in the US, being played from the 19th to the 30th of July and they couldn't find twenty minutes to sign and make a few photos? And even after returning to Barcelona and playing Chapecoense on the 8th of August, they couldn't find those twenty minutes again in 7 days.

Messi has signed now of course, but it really is worrying to see how long this took in not only his case, but also Iniesta's.

With a shaky defence, an overweight and out of form Suarez, an attack that relies on Messi a lot more than it should, and Iniesta thrown back through minor injuries constantly which are probably down to his age, I wouldn't have thought so at the start of the season, but it is going really well so far.

Winning eleven of their first 13 games and drawing the other two 1-1 against Atletico and Sevilla they're looking really good so far, they've appeared to have had no ideas in the Champions League sometimes, they need to improve in that competition, despite winning their group.

Andres Iniesta will be massively missed though when he is injured again or retires in a few years, he still is a really important player despite his age and his decline, his contract extension was also turning out to be more difficult than expected by the board. If your president says: "We only need his signature everything else is agreed" and your player then claims: "That is not true , I know nothing about it" you' re really doing somthing wrong.

It really is worrying, players stalling on their contract extension, losing Neymar to PSG, Phillipe Coutinho not signed and despite finally buying a proper right back in Semedo, who is a great purchase, they still need a world class centre back. Pique isn't good enough, he's a decent defender but is shaky very often and his reading of the game is nowhere near as good as Umtiti's, Mascherano is a good back-up also, but he is also quite old and not the player he once used to be, still a very good tackler though.

I like the signing of Paulinho, he adds energy to the team, isn't afraid to commit a foul, if he can keep his current form up, people will not question his price tag anymore, he's the kind of player the midfield was missing last season, when Barca looked a bit bored while playing actually, didn't have any ideas and then got caught napping on the counter attack.
This hasn't been an issue this season yet, as they are playing the ball around in midfield a lot more again this year, Enrique's aim was to get the ball to MSN as fast as possible, Iniesta and Busquets could not show their class on the ball because of this, something that they can again under Valverde, stabalizing the team a lot.

The squad of Barca still has many weaknesses though and they need to fix them soon.
In goal they've actually got the perfect man for a Barcelona team, Ter Stegen is a great passer , he's improved massively since the departure of Claudio Bravo. He proved how good his reflexes are last year against PSG in the second leg, and especially in El Clasico he was outstanding, on form he's been the best keeper in the world this season, together with David De Gea. Cillessen is a decent back-up for him.

Barca have finally bought a replacement for Dani Alves, Semedo is a player with a lot of potential, he's better defensively than he is going forward, he is really fast too, but he needs to learn a lot.

Jordi Alba isn't a brilliant defender, but his speed and ability going forward no other left-back in the has, he's been the best left back in the world so far this season, scoring a fantastic goal against Valencia to secure Barca a point and already giving four assist to Leo Messi so far.

Unfortunately, someone who also isn't very good defensively is Pique. Don't get me wrong, Pique is a good player, but he's nowhere near to be a world class defender.

Umtiti is world class I believe and was Barca's best defender last season, but he also makes mistakes and needs to learn a lot still, especailly in 1vs.1 situations against a quick attacker he looks bad quite often.
Vermaelen and Mascherano are okay back-ups, Barca should definitely sign another centre-back in janurary though.

Lucas Digne can't get past Alba and probably won't in the next two seasons, but to have him as a defensive option is very good for them.

As for their midfield, there isn't a lot to say. Busquets and Iniesta are both still world class players despite the bad form and injuries both of them have been through, Rakitic is a solid midfielder but not good enough to be starting in Barca's first team anymore, he is decent on the ball and has a good shooting technique, his consistency prensents another problem, he'll be amazing in one game, then mediocre for the next ten games, not good enough. Personally I would rather see Paulinho start with Busquets and Iniesta if they're playing three in midfield.

Paulinho as said already is a good signing and will help them a lot this year. He creates space in the attack when he's not on the ball and is always a threat in front of goal, defensively he's also decent, Barca needed a strong Box-to-Box midfielder and I think they've done a good job for once with his signing.

The back-ups in midfield aren't too bad, Sergi Roberto and Denis Suarez are both versatile, quite fast and decent in dribbling. Actually, I also like Andre Gomes, although he has to leave Barca in my opinion to get regular playing time again and show how good he is. He can be used as a central or left midfielder, despite his lack of pace he plays left midfield well, but Barca don't have a lot of pace in their team, so putting him in a wide position is just not a good solution.

They still need to sign either Eriksen or Couthino, I would personally go for the Brazilian as he is more explosive. Denis in particular should also play more, he's been good every time he got the chance, scoring two and assisting three in eleven appearances, in almost all of them he wasn't even starting, playing a total of 483 minutes in all competitions, which is just the time of playing four matches the full ninety minutes.

Moving on to the attack, improvement is desperately needed. Even though Messi has been scoring on assisting for fun at the start of the season, he's the only one who starts an attack and is capable of creating chances. This is obviously down to the departure of Neymar, also the horrific decline of Luis Suarez, who has been shocking so far. Suarez will undergo surgery on his knee his soon, hopefully he'll at least get close to his form from last season again. And, obviously, the injury of Ousmane Dembele didn't help things, as Deleofeu is the only other real winger they have and he is a good player, still doesn't show it often enough though, Barca can't rely on him.

Messi has been scoring, but his overall game is still declining, he needs support because even a guy like him can't do everything on pretty much his own, Jordi Alba is his best support and he's the left back, another winger or striker is needed, especially if Alcacer leaves in January.

Alcacer is really unlucky to have Suarez in front of him, he's been decent this season, scoring a brace against Sevilla to secure the win and playing well even on the wing, which is not his natural position.

Overall, Barca's squad needs improvements in almost every position, it looks as if it will be enough for La Liga unless Messi gets injured, but you never know.

​No matter who you prefer - Ronaldo or Messi, you can't deny that the latter is still an amazing player and plays football like nobody else. A video from Copa90 shows really how Lionel Messi works.

​“Messi’s impact on the world of Football is undeniably tremendous. His consistency and number-defying stats have catapulted him as arguably the best player in contemporary football with comparisons to Diego Maradona. We look at how Messi has changed contemporary football forever…”

​Philippe Coutinho seemed set to sign for Barcelona this summer. He wanted to leave, Barcelona desperately wanted him, and the media made it look as though it was only a matter of time until the Brazilian winger was playing for perhaps the greatest club in world football. In fact, the only thing that prevented him from leaving was stubbornness of Liverpool’s board – they seemed absolutely adamant that he wouldn’t leave under any circumstances.

As the days and weeks went by and it became closer and closer to transfer deadline day, the prospect of Coutinho staying at Liverpool became all the more likely.

As you know, Coutinho did begrudgingly stay at Liverpool, which gave him an entirely new problem: winning over the fans. Would he be able to get back into the hearts’ of the Liverpool faithful? Will they welcome him back with open arms, despite him clearly showing he’d rather be at Barcelona? Simply put, yes – the majority excused his behaviour and were more than happy to see Coutinho back. Rightly so, too, because he’s a brilliant player who gives his side that extra little bit of magic.

Philippe Coutinho scored his first goal of the season in Saturday’s game against Leicester City – and what a goal it was! Liverpool had a free-kick from about 25 yards out. In typical Coutinho style, he strolled up to the ball and effortlessly curled it into the top corner.

Liverpool went on to win the game. It was a brilliant end-to-end display of attacking football and Coutinho, who was named the man of the match, was a huge part of that.

The World Cup is coming up and Coutinho will be desperate to nail down a spot in Brazil’s starting eleven. Although he’s a world-class player, Brazil have an entire squad of world-class players. There’s no guarantee he’ll get into the team, so it’s imperative he has a good season. It’s no surprise that as soon as the transfer window closed and the opportunity to move Barcelona was gone, he went straight back to smashing free-kicks into the top corner as if nothing had changed.

This season has the potential to be Coutinho’s best in a Liverpool shirt. He has all the correct incentives to play well – if this season goes well he could find himself in Brazil’s starting eleven at the 2018 World Cup. By playing well this season he’ll also show Barcelona just how badly they need him, pressuring them into making an offer for the 25-year-old that Liverpool can’t refuse.

It’s make or break for Coutinho this season, and if his performance against Leicester City is anything to go by, this season will be the making of him.

​Marco Asensio exploded onto the scene at Real Madrid last season and since then people haven’t stopped talking about him. Many have claimed the 21-year-old is a future candidate for the Ballon d’Or, while others have said he’s the next Zinedine Zidane. Is Asensio as good as everyone has been saying, though, or is he just another over-hyped young player?

In December 2014, Real Madrid announced the signing of an unknown teenager for a fee of €3.9m. Signing from Mallorca, this teenage midfielder was known by few – but those who were in the know tipped him to be the next big thing. This player, of course, was Marco Asensio. Upon signing for Madrid, he was loaned back to Mallorca (where he remained for the rest of the 2014/15 season).

In the 2015/16 season, Asensio was loaned out once again, this time to Catalan side RCD Espanyol, where he really started to kick on. The attacking midfielder scored four goals and registered thirteen assists during his stint in Catalonia, impressing Real Madrid so much so that they decided to bring him back to the Spanish capital to play for them in the 2016/17 season.

Last season Asensio had the perfect platform to show his class - and he did exactly that. Despite having limited game time, when the Spaniard did have an opportunity he certainly took it. I don’t want to suffocate you with stats, so instead I’ll attempt to describe his play-style (which may prove to be a difficult task). Asensio hasn’t really nailed down a position in the Real Madrid squad. At times he’s played in central midfield as an attacking player who intercepts the ball and drives it forward with his incredible agility. On other occasions, though, we’ve seen him as more of a winger, working the channels and making darting runs. He’s a very adaptable and versatile player, and I think Zidane's decision to not tie him down to a position is wise.

Another key aspect of Asensio’s game is his striking ability. For a relatively small man, he has immense shot power. Not only does he possess power, though; he has the ability to chip, curl and place the ball. This can be seen in the varied collection of goals he’s already scored in his relatively short club career. One week he’ll smash one into the top corner from 30-yards out, the next he’ll dribble the ball around several defenders before chipping it over the keeper in a Lionel Messi-esque manner.

Currently speaking, Real Madrid are playing without their star-man Cristiano Ronaldo, who received a five-match ban earlier on this season following an incident involving a referee. In Cristiano’s absence, Los Blancos were looking for a player to step up to the plate and lead them through the first few games of the season. Asensio has been that player. I’m not trying to say Asensio has been a ‘leader’ in the conventional sense of the word but, in terms of his performances on the pitch, he’s led by example.I don’t want to delve too far into the intricacies of his game because ultimately he’s only 21-years-old. It would be unfair to pick apart the aspects of his game that aren’t so strong because, like I say, he’s still young and will obviously improve. Equally, I shouldn’t overestimate his ability. He’s shown fantastic potential and he’s a really exciting player, and I personally think he’s capable of becoming one of the world’s greatest players IF he continues along the same trajectory he’s currently on. That’s a big ‘IF’, though.

Welcome to my transfer round-up! In the following article I’m going to be taking a look at some of the biggest transfer rumours in football from the past few days and give you an update on some deals which have recently been completed.

Dembele to Barcelona?
Borussia Dortmund youngster, Ousmane Dembele, has been heavily linked with Barcelona and has even missed training and ignored phone calls from his club in an attempt to force a move. By the time you're reading this article, Dembele may well be a Barcelona player. Right now, Dembele is lighting up German football with his trickery and flair but moving to, arguably, the biggest club in the world, is NOT the right move for him. Following Neymar's move to PSG for £198m (€200m), Dembele would be expected to fill the void he left and perform to the same standard as his predecessor, from day one. That’s a lot to expect from a player of Dembele’s age (20). To walk into a club and replace the most expensive player in the football history would be near impossible. Unfortunately, though, Barcelona's worldwide fan base have very high standards, and they would be on his case from the off.

That being said, due to Barcelona’s embarrassing Supercopa de Espana loss to Real Madrid and their lack of signings this summer, the Catalan fans are crying out for a new marquee signing!

Coutinho to Barcelona?
This transfer saga seems as though it’ll never end. Philippe Coutinho has been one of the Premier League’s main attractions in recent years and now it seems he could be the player to replace fellow Brazilian, Neymar, at Camp Nou. Liverpool's owners and Jurgen Klopp have remained firm with their stance and have insisted they will do everything possible to keep hold of Coutinho. However, with bids well over the £100m mark being made, you just have to wonder how long will Liverpool be able to continue rejecting Barcelona.

It’s also worth mentioning that Coutinho has missed the start of Liverpool's Premier League season with ‘injuries’, and that the media have reported he wants to go to Barcelona.

Patrick Roberts to Celtic?
This is another transfer rumour that seems as though it just won’t go away. The Englishman spent two seasons on loan at Celtic from Manchester City and became a fan favourite. He is now set for a move back to Celtic Park on another season-long loan.

Roberts was purchased from Fulham for £13.5m two seasons ago and has featured in Manchester City's pre-season this year. He had a good few games and, although they were only friendlies, he did get to show Man City just how good he really is.

Done Deals:
Blaise Matuidi has signed for Juventus from Paris Saint Germain for £18m - an absolute bargain if you ask me! Meanwhile, over in England Tottenham Hotspur have signed Davinson Sanchez from Ajax for a reported fee of £45m. Tottenham’s North London rivals, Arsenal, have also been doing some transfer business – they recently sold Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Paulista to Valencia for £10m.

What has been the best bit of business from this transfer window so far? Let me know on Instagram @transferfeed!

After allowing the news that Neymar has officially signed for PSG sink in for a day or so, I’ve decided to give my thoughts on the signing.

Although many people have expressed how disappointed they are in Neymar for leaving Barcelona, I actually think it’s a very wise choice on his part. In my humble opinion, if Neymar had stayed at FC Barcelona for his entire career he’d be second to Messi in the history books. Not only would Barcelona fans glorify Messi more so than his ex-teammate, but also the football world in general will look back at this generation and call Messi the greatest. No matter how you look at it, Messi would always have been number one.

At PSG Neymar has a chance to become his own person. He’ll no longer be attached to MSN and will be able to show the world what he's capable of doing on his own. Obviously PSG have an outstanding squad, however, here Neymar is able to be the main man whereas at Barcelona that role was already taken by Lionel Messi.

Critics will be far harsher towards Neymar at PSG than they were before, not only because of his astronomical transfer fee, but also because he will be playing in the French league – where the standard is lower than La Liga. In terms of goals and assists, Neymar will have to go above and beyond any other player on the planet for him to even be considered as a potential Ballon d’Or winner – an award that I believe he is more than capable of winning.

Neymar also has the opportunity to lead a side to Champions League glory. I know he’s already won this competition before with Barcelona, but now he has the chance to do it with a team who are historically far less successful. If he manages to win the UCL with PSG (for the first time in their history) it will have a lot more of an influence on his legacy than if he were to simply just win it for a second time with Barcelona.

The final aspect of this transfer is, of course, the money. The fee Barcelona received for Neymar was in the region of £200m. This completely demolishes the previous world-record fee that was set last year when Manchester United signed Paul Pogba for £89m. Although PSG are notorious for being a club with a lot of money to throw around, a figure like this is extraordinary even by their standards. I think this transfer has paved the way for even more ridiculous transfers to take place in the future. Kylian Mbappe is coming through the ranks at Monaco and it’s only a matter of time before he is sold to one of Europe’s elite clubs. How much would he be worth? £150 million? £200 million? More...?

I honestly do believe this transfer will be remembered as one of the biggest moments in football history. Neymar signing for PSG means we'll be able to see how he'll develop on his own (without being in Messi’s shadow). He has the opportunity to prove himself and perhaps even stake a claim for why he should be remembered as one of football’s greatest ever players. On top of that, as I wrote earlier, financially speaking this move has changed everything.

Those are my pretty much all of my thoughts on the matter. If you disagree with anything I’ve written or would like to continue the conversation, get in touch with us on Twitter @socabol – I will personally reply to everyone! Thanks.